E30 Zone

Just got my car back from the bodyshop all shiny trouble is that the rear bumper (M-tech 2) won't fit properly. when i bought the car a while back the kit was put by the previous owner quite badly and i never noticed this issue before it got to the bodyshop

the 2 sides of the bumper, at the top where it meets the wheel arch won't sit flush and if you try and force it, then the bumper bellys out further down the length.

the guy in the bodyshop said it was because the face lifted rear wings are different. is this the case? and if so i would really appreciate some advice on how to get round the problem.

the guy that sprayed it suggested shaving a bit of the bumper further down the length to make it sit flush..... anyone tried this?

thanks

Is it definitely a genuine kit?

Replica fibreglass kits normally have the problem your describing.

If not, I think all you need is a set of facelift bumper mounts, put them on your pre-face cabby, and the kit should slot in how it should.

thanks.

i was fairly sure the bumper was genunie. i but i don't know what bumper slides were fitted, as they were replaced with the respray, and the old ones were no good, so if it is an issue with the slides then i can take it back to the bodyshop....

don't really want to take it back and kick up a fuss if it is an issue with the rear wing. can anyone confirm if the face lifted rear wing is different enough to cause this problem?

swiffer wrote:thanks.

i was fairly sure the bumper was genunie. i but i don't know what bumper slides were fitted, as they were replaced with the respray, and the old ones were no good, so if it is an issue with the slides then i can take it back to the bodyshop....

don't really want to take it back and kick up a fuss if it is an issue with the rear wing. can anyone confirm if the face lifted rear wing is different enough to cause this problem?

i personally dont think they are different as i have problems with getting the rear bumper sitting flush, i have done a few earlys and later cabs but i still have the problem and to be honest the bumper slides dont always do the job, best way around it for a neat job is screw the top side corners in, then filler over the holes. i am doing my H reg cab tomorrow, so will let you know how it goes.

Swiffer you are not going to get it perfectly flush, your bodyshop guy is correct the rear is slightly different...you have the suggestion from E30BM or you can fit the bumper and not push it fully on....so what you will do is fit a few washers to the rear shocks that the bumper sits on and leave a (5mm 8mm) gap along the back where the bumper meets the back of the car (below the boot/reg plate) this way the sides won’t be pushed too far and therefore the sides won’t stick out...

Hope that makes sense

Its the same on my cab, i bought the side platic mounts and mine stick out about 3 mm, but not really that noticeable.
The guys right about the different rear arches, yours are flush, whereas the facelift ones have a distinct edge where they mee the bumper so the cover the gap.

The problem is there because you're trying to put facelift stuff on pre-facelift car. I made facelift to '87 cabrio some time ago and installed full (original) mtech2 kit.

Anyways, rear arches are same in all cabrios but rear panel is different (bigger lights and on facelift models the panel comes ~10mm further back than on pre-facelifts).

So, best option would be to change rear panel & lights (expensive, yes). But if you don't want to go that route then you can try to shave the bumper a bit to make it fit..
Leaving a 1cm gap between body and bumper is silly IMHO.

thanks for all your responses, seems like a common problem.

the guy in the bodyshop has agreed to have another look at it in a few weeks and see what he can do. i'll let you know if he comes up with any genius solutions.

thanks

Jonsku wrote:The problem is there because you're trying to put facelift stuff on pre-facelift car. I made facelift to '87 cabrio some time ago and installed full (original) mtech2 kit.

Anyways, rear arches are same in all cabrios but rear panel is different (bigger lights and on facelift models the panel comes ~10mm further back than on pre-facelifts).

So, best option would be to change rear panel & lights (expensive, yes). But if you don't want to go that route then you can try to shave the bumper a bit to make it fit..
Leaving a 1cm gap between body and bumper is silly IMHO.

i dont know if i should believe that 100%. my cab i am doing now is a H reg with the smaller lights at the back and had mtec 1 kit. (is that a pre facelift?) i just put a tech2 rear bumper on and it sits bang on all round.

Interesting, thanks guys

I put a tech 2 on my cabbie (genuine kit) same prob at arch. Used bonding and clamped for 24 hrs